In this interview, the CEO of Fitness First reflects on the value his marketing experiences as CMO at Unilever and Cadbury provided in preparing him for his current role. View Summary

In this interview, the CEO of Fitness First reflects on the value his marketing experiences as CMO at Unilever and Cadbury provided in preparing him for his current role.

The real success stories have occurred when someone from a totally different background has been put right in the middle of an organisation because they ask questions that have never been asked.

If you want to become a CEO, you have to get out of your comfort zone; you can, and should, change industries so you can transfer your knowledge to a different place.

There is a need to have someone at the heart of the business who instinctively understands the brand and the customer.

At Fitness First, all front desk staff are now trained to know customers' names as knowing someone’s name is the single most important thing in brand recognition and loyalty.

4

Alcon: Get an A+ in eye care

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Effie Worldwide, Finalist, Shopper Marketing Effies

This case study explains how Alcon, an eyecare company, increased awareness of its products in the US with a social media campaign. View Summary

This case study explains how Alcon, an eyecare company, increased awareness of its products in the US with a social media campaign.

Get an A+ in Eye Care is a cause-related, Back-to-School promotion that happened during the time of year when parents are thinking about setting kids up for success in school and thinking about their child's vision and eye health.

Alcon got its message out with online ads, social media and a campaign website, promising to donate to help get vision screenings for kids when people 'liked' the company on Facebook.

This campaign increased awareness and sales, was embraced by retailers, and resulted in over 100,000 new likes and over 1,000 eye exams.

5

Why personalization matters for pharma brands

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Deb Furey and Kent Groves, Warc Exclusive, April 2015

This articles explains why pharmaceutical brands need to take a more personalised approach to marketing to healthcare providers in the US. View Summary

This articles explains why pharmaceutical brands need to take a more personalised approach to marketing to healthcare providers in the US.

This approach also overlooks the opportunity to personalise brand experiences, thereby connecting both ends of the purchase funnel and improving campaign predictions.

Brands should start by understanding how people make decisions and where they go for advice on this important issue, and then focus on providing the right information to healthcare providers based on their needs.

6

CrossFit's unique approach to brand-building

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, South by Southwest, March 2015

This event report shows how CrossFit, the fitness group, has built its brand through word of mouth and a singular focus on its distinctive approach to exercise, rather than via traditional marketing. View Summary

This event report shows how CrossFit, the fitness group, has built its brand through word of mouth and a singular focus on its distinctive approach to exercise, rather than via traditional marketing.

CrossFit has increased its number of affiliated gyms from 13 to around 12,000 in ten years, but does not require each location to use the same logo, tagline or business model.

Thanks to its rigorous "workout of the day" and holistic approach to fitness, the firm has ensured that daily attendance at gyms is much higher than the industry norm – creating a community spirit and encouraging brand evangelism.

Its business model employs a "least rents" approach, so most revenue goes directly to the entrepreneurs running its gyms, inspiring them to succeed.

7

How Walgreens boosted customer loyalty

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, NRF Big Show, January 2015

This event report outlines how Walgreens, the drug retail chain, has successfully leveraged the customer loyalty program which it launched in 2012. View Summary

This event report outlines how Walgreens, the drug retail chain, has successfully leveraged the customer loyalty program which it launched in 2012.

Ensuring the loyalty program was tied to wider corporate objectives was a key goal, both from the perspective of senior management and in securing buy-in across the enterprise.

Through the massive tranche of data generated by this initiative - which has over 80 million active members - Walgreens has been able to gather much deeper insights and segment its clientele in more effective ways.

Focusing on the 'best customer' has proved especially profitable, as this allows the firm to fuel sales with its most-valuable clientele and deliver the maximum ROI from its loyalty-based marketing expenditure.

With this campaign, OPSM tackled the important issue of children's vision by taking the optometrist's room into the homes of Australian families, creating a storybook that can determine if a child has an issue with his or her vision. View Summary

With this campaign, OPSM tackled the important issue of children's vision by taking the optometrist's room into the homes of Australian families, creating a storybook that can determine if a child has an issue with his or her vision.

Penny the Pirate, the storybook, was launched with an above-the-line campaign aimed at key influencers and 'mummy bloggers'; ads featured a celebrity ambassador.

In the first eight weeks of the campaign, over 100,000 copies of Penny The Pirate (book and app) were distributed, exceeding the campaign target by over 25%.

This led to increases in eye-test appointments for children well above target rates.

9

OPSM: How an optometrist drove growth by thinking differently about whom it was talking to

This article explains how Boots, the UK beauty and personal care retailer, used online surveys to understand how much more consumers are willing to pay for better quality service and in-store experiences. View Summary

This article explains how Boots, the UK beauty and personal care retailer, used online surveys to understand how much more consumers are willing to pay for better quality service and in-store experiences.

Boots sells a wide range of product categories with many unique buying behaviours and needed to understand purchasing motivations in-depth across categories.

It particularly wanted to understand the trade-off people are willing to make between a superior shopping experience and price, and how its prices stacked up against quality perceptions.

An online survey was fielded to people using Boots' loyalty scheme, with survey design and subsequent analysis allowing Boots to understand how consumers choose where to shop.

This helped Boots optimise its range, more effectively prioritise training budgets and introduce new pricing strategies.

11

Should've Gone to Specsavers: A far-sighted view of advertising's role in building a business over 30 years

This case study explains how Specsavers, the optician retail chain, grew from its launch in 1984 to become an international brand with the largest market share in the UK. View Summary

This case study explains how Specsavers, the optician retail chain, grew from its launch in 1984 to become an international brand with the largest market share in the UK.

In the early 1980s, opticians were closer to GPs than business people, until The Opticians Act 1984 allowed qualified opticians to advertise for the first time and started the push towards opticians becoming more like retailers.

Having invested nearly £500m in advertising over 30 years, Specsavers commands a dominant share of voice and consistent revenue growth.

Specsavers' has used a strategy of continuous presence at relatively high spend levels, a broad appeal, commitment to humour as an advertising tool and distinctive, familiar brand assets that build memory structure.

This has all contributed to £1.1bn of incremental profit over 30 years.

12

Watsons VIP Card: The loyalty card above ALL else

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Raymond Chin, Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study explains how Watsons, a retail chain, promoted its loyalty card scheme by adding the functionality of a cash card in Malaysia. View Summary

This case study explains how Watsons, a retail chain, promoted its loyalty card scheme by adding the functionality of a cash card in Malaysia.

In Malaysia loyalty cards are popular, and people tend to go into stores they have a loyalty card for more frequently.

Watsons VIP card needed to gain a spot in people's wallets by being relevant in everyday life.

It did this by merging with a widely use cash card, allowing users to collect Watsons' points when topping up the cash card - offering additional value and ensuring relevance.

Over 250,000 people signed up in just three months, with sign ups per week increasing 33.5% when the campaign was launched.

13

Durex Performan

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Deric Wong, Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study describes how Durex promoted its Performa condom in Hong Kong with a superhero called Performan. View Summary

This case study describes how Durex promoted its Performa condom in Hong Kong with a superhero called Performan.

Sex is something of a taboo subject in the region - and it is considered rude to talk about in public - a problem for a product whose main benefit is that it is designed for longer-lasting sex.

The solution, Performan, was a spoof superhero who starred in a 12-minute film seeded on YouTube; users could also interact with the campaign via a mobile app.

In just six weeks, Performan grossed 330,000+ views, while app downloads hit 15,000.

14

Vision Y: Shaping the future of eyewear industry through the eyes of the Millennial consumer

This paper sets out how Luxottica, the eyewear company, used a 360-degree research program in seven countries to connect with Millennial consumers and drive its future brand strategy. View Summary

This paper sets out how Luxottica, the eyewear company, used a 360-degree research program in seven countries to connect with Millennial consumers and drive its future brand strategy.

Research used online surveys, ethnographic interviews and accompanied shopping trips to understand Millennials in general and their specific attitude to eyeglasses and sunglasses.

The study identified 10 'golden rules' common to all Millennials, which included: play to win; be a non-conformist conformist; standout and be creative; and never give up.

Visual identity is important to Millennials in an age of tagged photos on social networks; their face is a particularly important way to indicate both individualism and conformity to a social group, and within this, eyewear plays a key role.

The research taught Luxottica to: envisage eyewear as a whole category, not as separate eyeglass and sunglass categories; provide personalised products; and create eyewear brands as holistic entities that offer a complete experience.

This Australian case study describes how OPSM, the eyecare company, responded to the growth of a competitor by accessing a stream of un-tapped customers with a mobile app. View Summary

This Australian case study describes how OPSM, the eyecare company, responded to the growth of a competitor by accessing a stream of un-tapped customers with a mobile app.

The company was the market leader until the introduction of Specsavers in Australia, which lowered price points and gained a dominant share of voice.

OPSM tackled this by finding a new pool of customers: people who had vision problems but didn't realise it.

A mobile app with a simple vision test alerted people that their sight may not be normal, with the facility to easily book a full vision test.

16

How Warby Parker disrupted the eyewear category

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, BRITE '14, March 2014

This event report describes how Warby Parker, the eyewear retailer, developed a new online approach to the category with a heavy focus on customer service. View Summary

This event report describes how Warby Parker, the eyewear retailer, developed a new online approach to the category with a heavy focus on customer service. The category had lagged behind others in moving online, and customer experiences of buying glasses were often unsatisfactory. Warby Parker launched an online business focussed on good customer service, with low prices. The customer service focus extends across the business, and utilises social media. The business has continued to grow online, which has further led to the opening of several stores. The company has also maintained a Net Promoter Score above 85%.

17

Superdrug Beauty Face Masks: Face value

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Design Business Association, Silver, Design Effectiveness Awards 2014

This case study describes how a packaging redesign enabled Superdrug, the beauty and health retailer, to reduce decline in its own-brand face mask range. View Summary

This case study describes how a packaging redesign enabled Superdrug, the beauty and health retailer, to reduce decline in its own-brand face mask range.

From a yoy decline of -16%, sales increased by 362%.

Assessment of the existing design suggested it was not immediately obvious that it was a face mask - important for this usually impulse buy - and that it did not appeal to younger nor older age groups.

The redesign segmented the range, with some products given a more colourful and fun design aimed at younger consumers, others a more sophisticated design for older consumers, and further products targeted at men.

As well as appeal to consumers, the new brand, "24 Daily", also needed to convince Terry White franchisees to trust in the products and stock them.

The new design was designed to convey products that were trustworthy, approachable and recommended by experts, and so could be depended on by families on an everyday basis.

This new identity resulted in over 300 units sold per store in 2013, equating to a 343% sales increase.

19

Lloyds Pharmacy: Putting our heart into keeping yours healthy

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Direct Marketing Association - UK, DMA Awards, Bronze, 2013

This case study describes a campaign by Lloyd's Pharmacy in the UK which used direct mail, TV ads and PR to promote services which help heart health. View Summary

This case study describes a campaign by Lloyd's Pharmacy in the UK which used direct mail, TV ads and PR to promote services which help heart health.

TV ads and direct mail targeted at people who had previously used the company's services invited people to take tests, promoted offers and gave information on managing conditions.

20

Specsavers: Geofenced mobile targeting

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Direct Marketing Association - UK, DMA Awards, Silver, 2013

This case study describes a campaign by Specsavers, the UK-based optical retailers, which used geofenced mobile targeting to deliver a special offer. View Summary

This case study describes a campaign by Specsavers, the UK-based optical retailers, which used geofenced mobile targeting to deliver a special offer.

The franchised nature of the business meant that the special offer promoted in this campaign only applied to 15 stores, and so geofencing, within a five minute walk of those stores, was used to target people nearby.

Mobile vouchers were delivered to potential customers at lunchtimes, evenings and weekends, when they were likely to be available to take an eye test spontaneously.

The campaign generated over £819,000 in sales, representing a 12:1 ROI.

58% of customers who redeemed a mobile voucher bought an additional product after the free eye test, and 42% of those who redeemed vouchers were new to the store.

In 2007, the UK market share of Boots, the pharmacy and beauty products retailer, was under pressure from new competitors in the health and beauty market. View Summary

In 2007, the UK market share of Boots, the pharmacy and beauty products retailer, was under pressure from new competitors in the health and beauty market. To address this problem, Boots embarked on a journey to identify and understand its most valuable customers: 25-44-year-old women, and developed a strategy to secure their loyalty. The resulting campaign - the feel-good 'Here come the girls' - used a TV led approach to engage its audience. The campaign arrested Boots' share decline and maintained its position as market leader.

Boots launched its Boots Laboratories master brand across Europe (in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal) with this campaign. Its aim was to decouple the new brand from Boots, which has strong associations with UK retail, and promote an innovative, scientific image. This strategy was necessary as pharmacies in continental Europe are generally under much tighter regulations, and are often family-run; Boots, therefore, had little scope for a big retail expansion in these markets. Products launched under the Boots Laboratories master brand include Serum 7, an anti-ageing skincare range. The campaign promoting the range was PR-led, and also included street marketing elements. The campaign enabled Boots Laboratories making inroads into several European marketplaces. Standout results include taking a 7% share in the French anti-ageing skincare category in the two months following launch. Boots also secured a deal with P&G to promote the products in Italy.

Familiprix is a chain of pharmacies in Quebec, Canada. With this campaign, the firm highlighted the fact that its pharmacists provide an attentive ear and personal advice about health worries; its aim was two-fold, with Familiprix wanting to build sales and attract new franchisees. View Summary

Familiprix is a chain of pharmacies in Quebec, Canada. With this campaign, the firm highlighted the fact that its pharmacists provide an attentive ear and personal advice about health worries; its aim was two-fold, with Familiprix wanting to build sales and attract new franchisees. The campaign centred on 30-second TV spots that ran throughout the province. It helped influence 17 pharmacists in their decision to bring their businesses into the Familprix fold.

24

Lloydspharmacy: Online doctor

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Direct Marketing Association - UK, Gold, 2011

Lloydspharmacy, the UK chain of pharmacies, wanted to dominate the market for online treatment of 'men’s problems' (such as impotence and baldness), knowing that men are naturally reluctant to seek help in these areas. View Summary

Lloydspharmacy, the UK chain of pharmacies, wanted to dominate the market for online treatment of 'men’s problems' (such as impotence and baldness), knowing that men are naturally reluctant to seek help in these areas. National press ads, incorporating a strong and humorous image, were used to show that these problems were normal and acceptable. They also drove traffic to Online Doctor, a website offering expert advice and remedies which could be bought quickly and discreetly. Year-on-year, within 3 months of launch, a 36% uplift in transactions and 44% uplift in revenue was achieved.

25

Medco Health Services: Game Changers

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Direct Marketing Association - US, Bronze, ECHO Awards, 2011

Medco Health Services wanted to take advantage of major changes in health care in the USA to gain new customers. View Summary

Medco Health Services wanted to take advantage of major changes in health care in the USA to gain new customers. It launched a campaign aimed at benefit managers, directors, and CFOs at large firms. A direct mail package and email focused on highly personalized communications to emphasize the company's commitment to customer relationships and directed recipients to a microsite. All online actions were captured and used to shape future communications. Data was also passed on to help sales representatives open more relevant dialogues with prospects. 5.5% of the personalized URLs were activated and return visit accounted for 55% of site traffic. But most important, Medco gained an $18-million account.